“It Was Easier in Prison!” : Russian Baptist Rehab as a Therapeutic Community, Monastery, Prison, and Ministry

This chapter revisits a Foucauldian concept of “complete and austere institutions,” using the ethnographic study of therapeutic communities, monasteries, prisons, and religious ministries to draw a line between those concepts, specifically addressing a Christian ministry in the Russian Baptist interpretation. My argument is based on an ethnographic account of the Russian Baptist ministry for people suffering from addiction. I unfold the concept of an Evangelical ministry, contrasting it to the Foucauldian austere institutions in order to highlight its nature. I argue that even though a rehabilitation ministry may use methods and techniques of austere institutions, and even resemble them in their implementation, the distinctive feature of a ministry is its focus on the result, rather than the process, interpreted as serving God by serving men.Peer reviewe

Orally Active Multi-Functional Antioxidants Are Neuroprotective in a Rat Model of Light-Induced Retinal Damage

Progression of age-related macular degeneration has been linked to iron dysregulation and oxidative stress that induce apoptosis of neural retinal cells. Since both antioxidants and chelating agents have been reported to reduce the progression of retinal lesions associated with AMD in experimental animals, the present study evaluates the ability of multi-functional antioxidants containing functional groups that can independently chelate redox metals and quench free radicals to protect the retina against light-induced retinal degeneration, a rat model of dry atrophic AMD.Proof of concept studies were conducted to evaluate the ability of 4-(5-hydroxypyrimidin-2-yl)-N,N-dimethyl-3,5-dioxopiperazine-1-sulfonamide (compound 4) and 4-(5-hydroxy-4,6-dimethoxypyrimidin-2-yl)-N,N-dimethyl-3,5-dioxopiperazine-1-sulfonamide (compound 8) to reduce retinal damage in 2-week dark adapted Wistar rats exposed to 1000 lx of light for 3 hours. Assessment of the oxidative stress markers 4- hydroxynonenal and nitrotyrosine modified proteins and Thioredoxin by ELISA and Western blots indicated that these compounds reduced the oxidative insult caused by light exposure. The beneficial antioxidant effects of these compounds in providing significant functional and structural protection were confirmed by electroretinography and quantitative histology of the retina.The present study suggests that multi-functional compounds may be effective candidates for preventive therapy of AMD

Improving Access to Mental Health Care in an Orthodox Jewish Community: A Critical Reflection Upon the Accommodation of Otherness

The English National Health Service (NHS) has significantly extended the supply of evidence based psychological interventions in primary care for people experiencing common mental health problems. Yet despite the extra resources, the accessibility of services for ‘under-served’ ethnic and religious minority groups, is considerably short of the levels of access that may be necessary to offset the health inequalities created by their different exposure to services, resulting in negative health outcomes. This paper offers a critical reflection upon an initiative that sought to improve access to an NHS funded primary care mental health service to one ‘under-served’ population, an Orthodox Jewish community in the North West of England

As leis dietéticas judaicas: um prato cheio para a antropologia

O objetivo deste texto é compreender as características principais do complexo sistema judaico relativo às leis alimentares. Nesse afã, serão discutidas: 1) a sua função social perante a incorporação de novos membros à ortodoxia judaica, com a decorrente reformulação das fronteiras do grupo; e 2) a sua função simbólica no sistema religioso judaico, que dá ênfase à prática ritual em lugar de crenças ou atos de fé. Ambas questões serão ilustradas a partir de dados obtidos no trabalho de campo desenvolvido com os novos judeus ortodoxos de São Paulo de 1999 a 2001.<br>The aim of this paper is to understand the main features of the complex Jewish system of dietary laws. With this in mind, the following topics will be discussed: 1) their social function as to when new members join Jewish orthodoxy, with the resultant reformulation of the group boundaries, and 2) their symbolic function in the Jewish religious system, which gives more emphasis to ritual practices rather than beliefs or faith. These two topics will be illustrated with the data gathered through a long fieldwork carried out among the new orthodox Jews of São Paulo during the years of 1999 through 2001